Chapter 305: The Spies Are Rampant

He Yuzhu followed the reconnaissance Squad Leader Ma Qian and walked quickly out of the Military Camp.

After walking for about three li, they saw two people tied to two trees in the woods—one was a middle-aged man in his forties, and the other was a young man in his twenties.

Ma Qian was indeed ruthless; he used a Rope to bind the two from top to bottom with several loops, tying them so securely that it would be extremely difficult for them to break free.

As soon as the two saw He Yuzhu approaching, they immediately began to shout loudly, "Wula wula," their faces full of grievance.

He Yuzhu waved his hand, signaling Ma Qian to translate—he was of Korean ethnicity and understood the local language.

Ma Qian relayed: "Battalion Commander, he says his family has been hunters for three generations. Now that there is a war, they truly cannot afford to eat, so they risked coming out to try their luck. He begs us to be kind and release them, father and son!"

He Yuzhu wore a smile, his tone gentle: "Fellow villager, since you appeared near our Military Camp, according to the rules, I must clarify things. If you are truly innocent, I will release you after the questioning."

Once Ma Qian translated these words, the two nodded hurriedly.

He Yuzhu asked casually, as if chatting about daily life: "Then tell me, what is your name? What is your son's name? What is your father's name? Also, tell me the names of the ten villages nearby. And, what do you usually eat around here?..."

He asked seven or eight questions in a row.

The middle-aged man was calm and unhurried, gesturing as he spoke: "My father is named Jin Chengkui, I am named Jin Junzhe, and my son is named Jin Minxiu..."

He Yuzhu listened patiently until the end, then suddenly asked him to repeat it.

This person had an excellent memory and repeated it almost word for word.

"With such a good memory, if he weren't a spy, it would be a waste of talent to be a hunter!" He Yuzhu thought to himself.

At this moment, Ma Qian handed over the two men's belongings for He Yuzhu to see: an old hunting rifle, a Dagger, a box of matches, and some dark, dry rations; there was nothing else.

He Yuzhu examined them one by one, activating the Scanning System, and found nothing unusual about these items.

However, He Yuzhu calmly grabbed the middle-aged man's right hand and examined it carefully—there was a thick, even layer of calluses on the web of his thumb and the inside of his index finger. Even if a hunter used a hunting rifle year-round, those calluses should be more scattered; this type of callus concentrated on the thumb web and finger side was clearly a mark left by long-term, frequent practice with a Pistol.

"They are spies!" He Yuzhu had already determined their identity in his heart, yet his face remained light and breezy.

He pretended to chat again, asking about the current price of meat and how they were getting by.

The other party answered fluently and logically, without the panic of ordinary people facing interrogation; all of this was the professional composure born of repeated training.

He Yuzhu turned to Ma Qian and ordered in a relaxed tone: "Ma Qian, you caught the wrong people. This uncle and his little brother are indeed fine. Untie them and let them go."

Not only did he release them, but He Yuzhu also took some local currency from his pocket and stuffed it into their hands: "Sorry for the trouble, I delayed your hunting! Take this money and go buy some food!"

The middle-aged man's eyes turned red, as if he were about to shed tears.

"Good acting!" He Yuzhu praised in his heart.

Ma Qian looked at He Yuzhu in disbelief.

The pair of "hunter" father and son expressed endless gratitude. As they left, a trace of imperceptible relief flashed in their eyes, and they immediately turned and disappeared around the corner of the mountain path with hurried steps.

Watching their retreating backs, He Yuzhu pulled Ma Qian over and ordered at high speed: "Go back immediately and bring all the skilled men from the battalion. I will leave this along the way—" He opened his palm, which contained some red powder, "Keep your distance when bringing the men!"

As soon as he finished speaking, He Yuzhu's figure flashed, and he followed them like a civet cat.

He did not chase far before covering himself with a white cloak, and his whole person instantly blended into the vast snowy field.

The two were indeed cunning. They did not go straight home but ducked into the dense forest, circling inside for over an hour before emerging from the woods empty-handed.

He Yuzhu was extremely patient, following unhurriedly and occasionally leaving faint red powder at tree roots and rock crevices to guide the follow-up troops.

After tracking for about seven or eight li, the outline of a small town vaguely appeared in the mountain hollow ahead.

As they neared the town, the two became increasingly vigilant.

Entering the town, the two first ate something in a small restaurant, then stayed in a barbershop for a while before slowly walking back to a dilapidated house.

He Yuzhu kept his eyes on the door of this house.

It wasn't long before Ma Qian found him.

"Battalion Commander, any discoveries?"

He Yuzhu nodded and said: "You watch the door of this house; I'll go check the large courtyard next to his place."

The large courtyard appeared to be a carriage inn, covering a fair amount of ground, with three-to-four-meter-high adobe walls on all sides, looking quite ordinary.

He Yuzhu circled around and turned on the Scanning System to look; it was a different world inside, not only containing over a dozen armed personnel, but the cellar also hid a radio.

It seemed highly likely that the small courtyard was connected to the carriage inn via an underground passage.

He Yuzhu returned to the dilapidated courtyard and explained the plan to Ma Qian; he soon brought over thirty soldiers from outside the town.

"Action!"

The soldiers rushed into the carriage inn like tigers descending a mountain, beginning to charge into each room separately.

He Yuzhu had a clear target and headed straight for a cellar in the courtyard.

He lifted the cover, and inside, a person was wearing headphones and sending a telegram.

His movements were as fast as lightning, and he knocked the person unconscious directly.

In the courtyard, Ma Qian and his group engaged in a fierce firefight with the spies.

These spies fought viciously, causing quite a few losses for He Yuzhu's side; in the end, the battle concluded at the cost of five comrades sacrificed and six wounded, with a total of fifteen enemies killed.

The harvest was also great; not only were two radios captured, but also codebooks and multiple detailed maps of the Volunteer Army's surrounding encampments.

When He Yuzhu led his men to withdraw from the town, he saw that in the small barbershop, someone's gaze was extremely malicious.

He activated the Scanning System and discovered that this seemingly ordinary small town was actually like a hornet's nest! Barbershop, small restaurant, grocery store... many people were armed; it seemed there was more than one wave of spies here.

He immediately grabbed Ma Qian and ordered in a low, urgent voice: "Go back immediately and bring four hundred men! Be quick!"

Ma Qian was startled: "Battalion Commander, do you think there are more of them in town?"

"At least a dozen more! They didn't make a move, not because they were afraid of us, but because they were reluctant to give up this nest! It seems they are about to make a move on our headquarters soon!"

Ma Qian dared not delay and immediately led his men to dash back for reinforcements.

He Yuzhu, using the terrain for cover, once again silently snuck back into the town to carefully scout the several strongholds where the enemies were hiding.

Two hours later, the reinforcements arrived on time.

Under He Yuzhu's guidance, three hundred soldiers completed the encirclement of the entire town, and the arrest operation began immediately.

Company Commander Li Xiaobiao led ten soldiers to rush into the grocery store, but it was empty inside.

He immediately turned and rushed into the courtyard to search, but there was still no sign of anyone.

Li Xiaobiao's heart tightened, realizing the enemy might have escaped through a tunnel.

The soldiers quickly began their search, turning the place inside out, and finally discovered a hidden opening beneath a water vat.

Without a word, Li Xiaobiao took several soldiers and crawled into the tunnel.

They pursued all the way through the pitch-black tunnel, not knowing how far they had run, until light finally appeared ahead.

Li Xiaobiao was the first to rush out of the opening, and just at that moment, an enemy hiding in the shadows suddenly opened fire.

Caught off guard, Li Xiaobiao fell heavily into a pool of blood.

"Company Commander!" a soldier roared, quickly pulling a hand grenade from his waist and throwing it outward.